Queanbeyan Kangaroos coach Aaron Gorrell has challenged his players to put together their consistency after they fought out a brutal come-from-behind 28-all draw against the Goulburn Workers Bulldogs at Freebody Oval on Saturday.
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Kangaroo Josh Mitchell had the chance to secure his men an emphatic two-point win with a conversion from the sideline, but it was not to be, with an intense effort from the Bulldogs sealing what would favourably have been a draw.
A second half double to skipper Troy Whiley secured his men a single point which still has them undefeated this season.
But Gorrell said while a number of his players including Whiley, Josh Mitchell, Jordan Macey and Bryan Cronan had starred at times throughout the season to date, all men needed to work better as a team for longer periods.
"We're just lucky Goulburn weren't good enough to put us away," said Gorrell.
"We only played for the last 25 minutes and you can't afford to do that against quality sides. We keep dodging bullets, but hopefully we'll wake up to ourselves."
The visitors were riding a high of confidence after piling on half a century against the previously undefeated Gungahlin Bulls in round three.
They started the game well and the experience of the Picker brothers in former Raiders' Mick and Ben came in good hand as the two found holes in the Kangaroos' defence.
Shocked being down by twelve points early in the half, the home side lifted as the small crowd got behind them, and half Macey took a hop, skip and a jump to break through the Bulldogs' defence.
He found winger Ratu Tagive who stepped around some more defenders to dive over in the corner, but to Goulburn's credit this hardly seemed to matter, as they retaliated almost immediately down field to take a handy two-try lead into the break.
Gorrell's worries may have continued in the first five minutes of the second half, with Bulldogs winger Codie Medway only denied a corner-post try by a toe on the touch line.
But a second installment of the Macey show then began, as he stepped into a gap and perfectly placed a grubber kick for prop Matt Lewis to dive on.
Both sides entered a maul against one another as the game spiced up, with Ben Picker and Kangaroo Lewis both sent from the field for 10 minutes after a physicality.
Bulldog Ben Schieber was also penalised and cautioned for a high shot on Tagive.
A try to Kangaroo Whiley reduced the margin to just four points in another twist of momentum after redemption from Medway and another try a piece brought the score to 28-24.
Mitchell and Whiley again stood tall for the Kangaroos, with the skipper taking a ball from his teammate in a lovely angle to level the scores in the corner.
The Kangaroos travel to Greenway Oval next Saturday to face the Tuggeranong Bushrangers.
